Summer's not over yet!

Maybe looking far ahead to things like Hallowe'en, Chairman Peter Shallcross in his monthly update has an idea for those who find the macabre in nature even more intriguing than scifi - go to MoreNews to read all about it.

But happily Andrew Graham takes a more summery approach: What to do if a peacock or small tortoiseshell butterfly comes into your house and looks like staying put? The best thing is in fact to leave the window open in the hope that it goes out again (this happened with one in my house the other day).  Failing that, catch it by putting a glass over it and sliding a piece of paper very gently underneath till the butterfly walks onto it, then letting it go outside.  But wait for a sunny day!  (And do not, as has been suggested, put it in the fridge in the hope that it will go into proper hibernation!)

Andrew also says there are plenty to look out still for on our downland and meadows and indeed gardens: large and small whites, common blue, brown argus (which is in fact also a 'blue'), even the Adonis blue - distinguished not just by its electric blue colour but also the black 'chequer' on its wing edges.  On Fontmell Down you may also see the tiny silver-spotted skipper, and although our heat 'plume' from the Sahara didn't seem to bring the painted ladies and clouded yellows, it's definitely worth keeping an eye open for them. (I reported last year that the painted ladies' migration is a round trip of 12,000 - yes, twelve thousand - miles!)

More details from Andrew on all this on MoreNews.

And finally, go to Field Trips for news of the next one, on 19 September - paddling about in the Nadder!